


Gods and Monsters

by StaticLantern



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Implied Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 19:50:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2519708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaticLantern/pseuds/StaticLantern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life doesn't always take you where you want to go in the halls of Asgard, but it certainly takes you where you're needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gods and Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> Short drabble I wrote based on this post: http://thief--of-hearts.tumblr.com/post/101049259023/if-you-went-back-in-time-and-loki-found-out-he-was-a  
> I hope they don't mind I wrote something off it.
> 
> \----------
> 
> Follow me on tumblr! http://birdwithakeyboard.tumblr.com/

Sometimes you don’t get to control where life takes you. Sometimes you’re just walking down the corridor, you turn a corner, and you find yourself somewhere completely different. It always corrects itself eventually, but there’s really no explanation as to why it happens in the first place. Or at least, there’s no explanation that Fandral’s managed to find yet.

You can always tell when you’ve stepped through one of these veils. It’s like stepping through a screen of magic. Everything is exactly the same except for maybe one or two details (like perhaps you’ve stepped into a reality exactly one hour into the future, or one where a significant aspect of you or someone you know’s life never happened or happened slightly differently), the only difference is everything seems to have a slight orange hue, like when the sun is low in the sky.

So when Fandral turned the corner on his way back from stables one morning and it suddenly appeared to be nearly dusk, he was aware of what had happened. It wasn’t the first time it’d happened and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. It was a normal part of Asgardian life for many inhabitants (though it didn’t affect the majority of citizens).

Looking around, he seemed to be in the same place he had been before. Nothing appeared any different, which only unnerved him. Although this occurred to him frequently, he never enjoyed interacting in his new environment. So as always, he was on eggshells. He continued down the hallway, doing his best to look like anyone else. 

It didn’t take long before he found himself outside the weapon’s vault. Something about this anomaly made it almost impossible to decide anything for yourself. It’s not that you get physically dragged anywhere, more like you think you’re going to the great hall and before you know it, you’ve walked down to the courtyard. More deep, philosophical stuff Fandral preferred to pretend he didn’t notice.

If this is where the veil led him, then he figured this was where he needed to be. Checking around him to be sure there were no guards nearby, he pushed the door open and stepped into the vast room. The doors closed behind him and he stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and after a moment, he could make out the outline of someone standing at the end of the hall.

Fandral made his way quickly down the stairs, only slowing his pace once he hit the main hall. From there, he recognized who stood across from him. It was Loki, only he appeared to be no more than a child. And he looked incredibly panicked. Beside him on the floor was the casket stolen from Jotunheim during the last battle. Loki looked up at his face with sheer panic, tears brimming at his eyes.

“You shouldn’t be in here Loki.” Fandral said calmly, bending over to pick up the casket.

“Please- I didn’t- I just wanted to see it- but then it-...” He could barely complete two words without stumbling over his own tongue, voice cracking.

“What did it do?” Fandral asked, setting the casket on it’s pedestal with a quiet clink of stone on stone, looking down at Loki once the weapon was back in it’s place.

He knew what Loki saw. He already knew of Loki’s heritage. It wasn’t that long ago that Loki had returned from his failed siege against Midgard, spouting his anger about the lies Odin had told him. Fandral had spent a long time outside Loki’s jail cell, exchanging hushed words about the Prince’s predicament. The other said very little other than what he’d already screamed at Odin during his screening.

“I thought- at first… I thought it was freezing my skin, but….” Loki’s voice sounded so… pleading, as though Fandral would be able to put to rest Loki’s fears.

“But it wasn’t. Was it?” Fandral knelt down in front of Loki, reaching up gently to wipe away the first tear that had begun rolling down his cheek.

“What am I?” Loki asked, barely above a whisper, eyes glued to the floor.

“You know what you are.” Fandral replied, matching his volume level.

“One of those monsters… I’m a Jotunn.” His voice crumbled and more tears spilled out.

“No! You are Jotunn, yes, but you are not a monster. You are Loki, a Prince of Asgard… and of Jotunheim.”

“But they’re monsters-”

“Why? Because that’s what Odin told you? All things that live and breathe and feel are beautiful. Life has been unfair to you, it’s dropped you at a bottom rung, and it will continue to do so your whole life. But you also have been given amazing potential and opportunity. You are only a monster if you choose the path that makes you a monster. What you’re born as determines nothing but blood, and there’s no such thing as bad blood.” Fandral cupped Loki’s face and wiped the tears from his cheeks with his thumbs. “Only you can determine who you are.”

Loki’s bottom lip quivered and his chest shuttered with deep breathes. He met Fandral’s gaze, sniffing loudly. “What if other people find out? Thor- A-and father… they hate the Frost Giants… They’ll hate me.” He broke again, another wave of tears wetting his face.

“For the Allfather, I can not say. He has high expectations for you because of what you were born as, you must work harder than others to gain his approval and it’s not fair, but he has already made his judgement. As for Thor, you are his brother and whether he shows it all the time or not, he adores you. No matter who or what you are, no matter what happens in life, there will always be people who love you. Frigga loves you with all her heart. You have a mother’s love incomparable to any I’ve seen before. You have your brother’s love, you have friends, and someday a lover as well. There are too many things in this world worth living for to miss out on mourning your parentage. Your life is so full, you have so much you’ve yet to live for, you just have to give yourself a chance. I know it’s hard, but don’t be so concerned with what others think of you, you miss out on too much thinking that way. You must live for you.”

Fandral lowered his hands and wrapped his arms around Loki, pulling the child into a warm embrace. Loki returned the hug immediately, wrapped his arms tight around the back of Fandral’s neck, burying his face in the older man’s shoulder. When they finally released from each other, Loki was hiccuping, his face glistening wet. Fandral removed his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the boy.

After he cleared the tears from his cheeks, Loki spoke again. “Who are you?”

Fandral smiled back warmly. “A friend. Loki, believe me when I say life is hard and cruel sometimes. You may feel alone at times, but now you know, no matter what, you have one friend at least. You will never be alone, take comfort in that.”

Loki nodded and handed the handkerchief back. Fandral stood and took Loki’s hand in his own, guiding him away from the stand that held the casket, back up the stairs, and out of the Weapons Vault. The doors had barely shut before a group of young boys, and one young girl, came barreling around the corner.

“Loki! We’ve been looking everywhere for you! Come on!” The blond, Fandral recognized him as Thor, grabbed Loki’s sleeve and dragged him back before noticing the adult in their midst. “Who’s that?”

Fandral bowed dramatically, “Pardon my presence young princes, I was just about to leave.” He winked at Loki and turned to leave.

From behind him, he could hear the children shouting breathlessly as they took off running again. Down the hall, away from the noise Fandral went, wandering aimlessly. After a few turns down different corridors, the orange hue dissipated and he knew everything had returned to normal. A smile on his face, Fandral knew now that at least one version of Loki would be on the right path. If he could take comfort in anything with the current state of his lover, it would be that. Perhaps if the imprisoned prince would listen, he could share what had just happened and maybe it could help him as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr! http://birdwithakeyboard.tumblr.com/


End file.
